Edwin Colón Zayas, often called a genius and virtuous cuatrista, is a highly accomplished musician of Puerto Rico, known for his use and promotion of the Puerto Rican cuatro, an instrument that plays like a guitar, but is shaped closer to the violin. He joins a large number of Puerto Rican artists, "innovative tradition-bearing," who focus their talents in extolling the virtues of the Puerto Rican creole and Jibaroway of life.
Early life
Zayas was born on October 27, 1965, in the town of Orocovis, Puerto Rico, to a family of musicians and folklorists. He was the eldest of five. At six, he began training with the Cuatro and the guitar with his parents.
Early career
In the 1980s, Zayas, the cuatrista, and arranger joined bands like the Jataca, Cimarrón, Areyto, Cumbre Criolla, Taller Boricua, the orchestra of Rafael de Jesús, Mapeyé, and the group of Andrés Jiménez. In 1982, he received the award, "Primer Premio Nacional del Cuatro," and his band, the Conjunto Típico de la Montaña, got the Medal of Culture from the Institute of the Puerto Rican Culture.
In 1991, Zayas was the leading soloist in the San Juan Pops Orchestra in the Center of Fine Arts. That same year, he offered a Cuatro concert in the International Festival of the Guitar at the University of Puerto Rico. And, was sent to represent Puerto Rico in Mexico at the International Cervantes Festival. The next year, Zayas played his Cuatro with the famous guitar playerPaco de Lucía in the Theater La Perla in Ponce as well as in the Center for Fine Arts, an event that coincided with the celebrations of the Fifth Centenary of the Encounter of Two Worlds. In 1994, Zayas and his band, "Taller Campesino," joined with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival for a series of performances at the DC Mall, and followed with a US tour. That year, he also participated in the Banco Popular's Christmas program with a runaway piece called, "Duelo de los Cuatros," with Pedrito Guzmán.
Current times
In 2008, Zayas received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Tropical Album for his album Reafirmación, and in 2009 was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment of the Arts. Zayas remains at the head of the band "Taller Campesino", which continues to receive awards for its innovations and artistic leadership. While he includes nontraditional instruments to his folk music, he is still "considered by many to be among the purest performers of folk music". Zayas expressed his position about the power of folk culture to transform others: “I can... criollizar any international number".
Partial discography
1988 El cuatro Más allá de lo imaginable EC 1989 Siguiendo hacia lo infinito EC 1990 100 años con Don Felo EC 1991 En vivo desde el Teatro Tapia EC 1992 100% puertorriqueño EC 1993 Bien jíbaro: Country Music of Puerto Rico Rounder Records 1993 Descarga EC 1993 El cuatro y la danza puertorriqueña Disco Hit 1994 Este es tu Taller Campesino Disco Hit 1995 Morel Campos en tiempo de cuatro Disco Hit, Típico, romántico y diferente 1999 La hora de tu partida
